BRITISH SPORT PAST AND PRESENT 



plumage then, but she stuck to her work for more than twenty 

 minutes, during the whole of which time the curlew (in desper- 

 ate earnest) was quite unable to get away from her. Stoop 

 succeeded stoop, and, as I thought, too rapidly ; and when it 

 is considered that the sole effort of the curlew was to avoid the 

 deadly bloAV, and mount higher than her adversary after its 

 failure, and that every failure placed tlie stooping falcon 

 60 yards and more below the curlew, rapidly mounting on the 

 best of wings, and that she had to regain her position, and get 

 100 yards above her hoped-for quarry, before she could again 

 return to the attack, the courage, ability, and perseverance 

 with which she kept at it, until both were out of sight of two 

 of the best pair of eyes I have known, fairly astonished me. 

 My excellent field glasses still shewed me two little black dots 

 in the clear blue sky : the falcon even then repeating her 

 unavailing efforts, by ringing widely against the wind, and so 

 mounting laboriously over the curlew, whose upward pro- 

 gression was accomplished by the most extraordinary bounds 

 (I can call her movements nothing else) I ever saw. Only two, 

 of these many stoops, " told " all through this long contest. 

 Twice I saw the curlew knocked round and up, and twice her 

 feathers floated in the air like tiny dust ; but the harm done 

 was not enough, and the two dots finally separated, and the 

 disappointed falcon was shortly recalled to us (though she 

 needed no " lure," and seldom or never gets one shown, as she 

 is perfectly willing to stay and work with us). It may be of 

 interest to remark, that on looking round, we saw the pointer 

 and setter (which on another occasion stood for half an hour 

 by the watch) Avere still " on the point " ; and when the hawk 

 came over, still at a vast elevation, the long-suffering dogs were 

 relieved. 



' The grouse (three or four) were sprung, and " Lady Jane," 

 tired as she was, stooped and killed one with her usual ease. 

 Needless, I hope, to say she did not go hungry to bed that 

 night, for want of a meal on grouse ! We were all convinced 

 that, with a companion to help her (two falcons are always 



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